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Wildcat Soccer Plays Host to Arizona Tournament

WHAT'S HAPPENING: The University of Arizona women's soccer team (4-3-1 overall, 0-0-0 Pac-10) plays host to Idaho State, Saint Louis and Youngstown State for the Arizona Tournament this weekend. On Friday, Oct. 4, Saint Louis and Idaho State will play in the first game at 5 p.m., followed by Arizona and Youngstown State at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 6, the two losing teams will face one another at 11 a.m., and the two winning teams will play at 2 p.m. All matches will be played at Murphey Stadium, located at 15th Street and Plumer Avenue.

SCOUTING ARIZONA: The Wildcats are 4-3-1 overall after splitting a pair of road games last weekend. On Sept. 28, the Cats set or tied six school records with an astounding 10-0 win at Belmont, then they were edged, 2-1, at Kentucky on Sept. 29.

The Wildcats' offensive production remains quite spread-out, with 12 different players registering at least one goal or one assist already this season.

After scoring six goals during the weekend's action, redshirt freshman forward Kelly Nelson (Lakewood, Calif./Mayfair HS) has taken over the Arizona scoring lead with seven goals (14 points) on the season. Tied for second with six points each, freshman midfielder Lisa Kosena (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) has two goals and two assists, and freshman forward Erin Clewett (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) has one goal and four assists.

Senior midfielder Naomi Chu (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake HS) leads the team with 18 shots, including a team-high-tying 12 shots on-goal. Freshman forward Mallory Miller (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic HS) is second in shots, with 17, and Kelly Nelson is third with 16 shots. Nelson is tied with Chu for the team lead in shots on-goal, with 12.

True freshman goalkeeper Amanda Martin (Franklin, Tenn. HS) has started all eight matches so far, tallying 51 saves, two shutouts and a 1.06 goals-against average in 681 minutes of play. Redshirt freshman keeper Natalie Juarez (Claremont, Calif. HS) has played 59 minutes so far and has made one save while allowing no goals. Martin and Juarez have combined for two shutouts, bringing the team total to four for the season, the most team shutouts since 1999.

SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE: On a seven-game losing skid, Youngstown State is 1-8-0 overall and 0-2-0 in Horizon League play. The Penguins dropped two matches on the road last weekend at Wright State (7-1) Sept. 29 and at Oakland (8-0) on Sept. 30.

YSU has scored 18 goals this season, but 14 of them came in a 14-0 blowout at Delaware State on Sept. 4. That was also the Penguins' only win of the season thus far.

Freshman Maura Patton leads YSU in scoring, with five goals (10 points), followed by sophomore forward Hannah Lawther with three goals and two assists (eight points). Sophomore midfielder Cerid Irvine is third on the scoring chart, tallying two goals and one assist (five points).

Freshman goalkeeper Caitlin Bestard has seen the most action in-goal for Youngstown State this season, collecting 71 saves and a 5.37 goals-against average in 570 minutes. Fellow rookie `keeper Jennifer Jennings has played 254 minutes, logging 11 saves, one shutout and a 1.42 GA average.

Youngstown State head coach Elizabeth Bartley (Beloit, 1993) has a 8-58-1 mark in four years with the Penguins. She is 39-70-2 in seven years as a head coach.

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE: Winless in five of its last seven matches, Idaho State is 5-4-1 overall after being shutout at Gonzaga (1-0) on Sept. 27 and playing Idaho to a 2-2 overtime draw on Sept. 29 in Moscow. The Bengals haven't won a match since dropping Texas Tech, 1-0, in a neutral game in College Station, Texas, on Sept. 20.

Sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Boyle has played all 930 minutes in the nets for Idaho State, registering 45 saves, three shutouts and a 1.74 goals-against average.

In his fifth season with the Bengals, head coach Gordon Henderson (Heriot-Watt, 1991) has a 37-39-9 record at Idaho State. He is 64-63-9 in eight seasons as a head coach.

SCOUTING SAINT LOUIS: Winners of three of their last four games, the Billikens are 7-3-0 overall and 3-1-0 in Conference USA action after sweeping Southern Mississippi (2-0) and South Florida (4-0) at home over the weekend.

Sophomore forward Jamie Perry (six goals, one assist) and freshman forward Christie Cigno (five goals, three assists) are tied for SLU's scoring lead with 13 points apiece. Senior forward Jenny Kehl is a close second with two goals and six assists (10 points), followed by junior forward Anny Lucier with three goals and one assist (seven points).

Senior goalkeeper Meghann Burke has played all 905 minutes in goal for the Billikens this year, tallying 45 saves, four shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.80.

Saint Louis head coach Tim Champion (Harris-Stowe, 1979) holds a 72-44-13 mark in seven seasons at the helm of the Billiken program. He has a career record of 132-58-17 in 10 years as a head coach.

THE SERIES: Arizona has never before played Youngstown State, Idaho State or Saint Louis.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK'S WILDCAT ACTION: Wrapping up a stretch that saw them play five out of six matches on the road, the Wildcats split a pair of games in the Midwest last weekend.

On Sept. 28, Arizona scored eight second-half goals and demolished Belmont, 10-0, in non-conference action in Nashville. The loss was the worst in the six-year history of the Belmont program.

Redshirt freshman midfielder Courtney Moseley (Redondo Beach, Calif./Bishop Montgomery HS) started things off for the Cats in the seventh minute with her first collegiate goal off an assist by Lisa Kosena. Fellow freshman Nikki David (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) registered her first collegiate goal in the 38th minute, with Erin Clewett assisting. Arizona led, 2-0, at the break.

Five minutes into the second half, Kelly Nelson scored the first of her five goals for the match off a through ball from Moseley. Over the next 29 minutes, Nelson tacked on four more strikes, and ending up with five, she tied the school record for single-game scoring that was set by Kristi Lorona against Southern Utah on Sept. 9, 2001.

As for Arizona's other three goals, Lisa Kosena logged her second goal of the season in the 59th minute off an assist by freshman defender Jennifer Klein (Prescott, Ariz. HS). Maggie MacCool came in the game in the 77th minute and scored right away off a corner kick from Klein, and Erin Clewett logged her first collegiate goal, the last tally of the match for the Cats, in the 86th minute from Naomi Chu.

The Wildcats' 10 goals in the match sets a new school record for single-game goal scoring, and the 30 points off the 10 goals and 10 assists sets a new record for most total points in a game. The 10 assists is a new school record as well, far surpassing the old record of six set last season against Southern Utah.

Arizona out-shot Belmont, 37-6, and had a 22-4 advantage in shots on-goal. Goalkeeper Amanda Martin had three saves, and Natalie Juarez had one save, as the two combined for the team's fourth shutout of the year. The Cats have now amassed the most shutouts in any season since 1999.

On Sept. 29, all three of the match's goals came in the final nine minutes of action, as Arizona was edged, 2-1, by Kentucky (6-3-0) in Lexington.

The two teams played 81 scoreless minutes, then Kelly Nelson broke the shutout with her sixth goal of the weekend off a pass from Mallory Miller at 81:22. Just three minutes later, Kentucky scored a header off a corner kick to tie the game, and four minutes after that, the UK Wildcats logged the gamewinner with less than two minutes left on the clock.

Kentucky was credited with 20 shots, including 14 on-goal, while Arizona was cited as having just four shots, all on-goal. UA goalkeeper Amanda Martin made a season-high 11 saves while playing all 90 minutes in the nets for the Wildcats.

LOOKING AHEAD: Arizona kicks off Pac-10 play in Tempe next weekend, facing Arizona State on Friday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. The Cats will play UCLA at home on Friday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m., and then they will take on USC at home on Sunday, Oct. 20, at 1 p.m.

ARIZONA HEAD COACH CATHY KLEIN: Third-year head coach Cathy Klein (SUNY-Cortland, 1987) holds a 12-30-4 mark at the helm of the Arizona program. She has a Division I career record of 69-71-5 over eight years and is 91-124-10 in 13 seasons as a head coach.

Klein was named as the Wildcats' new head coach in January, 2000. She came to the UA after a five-year stint building a new women's soccer program at Iowa State. In four varsity seasons with the Cyclones, Klein garnered a 43-37-1 mark. Before Iowa State, Klein was head coach at Creighton and Division III schools Earlham College and Utica College.

THE REST OF THE STAFF: In her third season at the UA, Melissa Estrada (Creighton, 1995) followed Cathy Klein from Iowa State, where Estrada was part of Klein's coaching staff for four years. She assists with recruiting and works with the field players.

Assistant coach Casey Mann (Grand View College, 1997) is in his second season with the Wildcats. His primary responsibility at the UA is coaching the goalkeepers.

SOLID DEFENSE: Arizona has given up only eight goals in the first eight games this year, tying the 1997 team for the fewest number of goals ever allowed through the first eight matches of any season.

FIRST-TIME MEETINGS: The Cats are certainly seeing some diversity in their schedule this season. Seven of the eight opponents they have already faced were first-time matchups for the UA, and they will take on two more first-time opponents this weekend. Before the season is over, Arizona will have played nine different opponents for the first time ever.

CHU JOINS CAREER LEADERS: Senior midfielder Naomi Chu has broken into Arizona's top 10 for both career games started and games played. With 44 career starts, she is tied for ninth on the UA career list in that category, and her 54 career games played places her 10th in that category.

MUSICAL LINEUPS: Out of the 20 active players on the Arizona roster, 15 have started at least one contest already this season.

NOTING THE PAC-10: Stanford (8-0-0) has emerged as the new No. 1 team in the nation in all the various polls this week. With three other conference squads (UCLA, Cal, Washington) among the top 15 teams in the NSCAA Coaches Poll, Pac-10 play certainly won't be easy this season. UCLA as the second-best record in the Pac-10, at 7-1-0, followed by Arizona State at 6-1-2.

TOUGH SCHEDULE: Six of this year's UA opponents were nationally ranked this week, and two more were ranked in their regions. In this week's NSCAA Coaches' Poll, Stanford is No. 1, UCLA is No. 3, California is No. 6, and Washington is No. 14. In the Soccer America Top 25, Stanford stands at No. 1, UCLA at No. 3, California at No. 10, Washington at No. 12, Arizona State at No. 16 and USC at No. 18.

In the NSCAA Coaches Regional Polls, Stanford (#1), UCLA (#2), California (#4), Washington (#6), Arizona State (tied #8) and USC (tied #10) are all among the top 10 in the West Region. Kentucky (#7) is ranked in the Great Lakes Region, and Oklahoma is ranked No. 7 in the Central Region.

In the Soccer Buzz Magazine Top 25, Stanford is No. 1, UCLA is No. 3, California is No. 8, Arizona State is No. 19 and Washington is No. 23.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: The Wildcats have a 21-29-3 record in seven seasons playing on their home field, Murphey Stadium. They have a stellar 7-4-1 mark in home games over the last two seasons combined.

ON LOCATION: This year, Arizona is 2-1-0 at home, 1-2-0 in road games and 1-0-1 in neutral contests. The Wildcats were 5-3-1 at home last season, 0-9-0 on the road and 0-0-0 in neutral games.

TWICE IS NICE: Traditionally, the Cats have fared rather well when scoring two or more goals in a match. They won all three matches this season in which they have scored more than one goal. Over the nine years of Wildcat soccer, the UA has a 36-19-2 record when scoring two goals or more.

CLOSE BUT...: The outcome of six of the Wildcats' 18 games last season were decided by one goal or less, and the Cats have already had three matches decided this season by that differential. In the nine-year history of the Arizona soccer program, 64 matches have been decided by that one-goal-or-less differential.

CAT SCRATCHES: Arizona has a 4-1-0 mark this year when scoring first in a match... The Cats are also 3-0-0 when ahead at halftime and are 3-0-0 when outshooting opponents.

CATS SMASH SCHOOL RECORDS IN 10-0 TROUNCING OF BELMONT: On Sept. 28, the Wildcats earned an astounding 10-0 win at Belmont in Nashville, Tenn., and in the process set or tied six school records. Freshman Kelly Nelson logged five of the team's goals in the match, tying both the goals and total points records set on Sept. 9, 2001, by Kristi Lorona against Southern Utah. The team's 10 goals and 10 assists are also both new school records, as are the 30 total points. The Cats set a new record for largest margin of victory, as well.

WHAT A START!: Arizona's 3-0-1 mark was the best record ever through the first four matches of any season, making it the best start in the program's history.

WILDCATS TAKE IOWA STATE CYCLONE CLASSIC TITLE: Arizona used a 5-0 drubbing of Northern Iowa on Sept. 8 to win the title at the Iowa State Cyclone Classic in Ames, Iowa. The Cats tied Wisconsin, 1-1 in double overtime, on Sept. 6, and although Wisconsin defeated host Iowa State on the second day of action, Arizona was awarded the title by virtue of a goal differential tiebreaker.

ARIZONA WINS OWN WILDCAT INVITATIONAL TO OPEN SEASON: The Cats opened the 2002 season with two wins at home, taking the title of their own Wildcat Invitational on Aug. 30 and Sept. 1. Arizona kicked off the season on Aug. 30 with a 2-0 win over Drake in the first round of the tournament, then the Cats capped the weekend with a 1-0 victory over Cal Poly on Sept. 1. This marked the first time in the history of the program that the Wildcats have opened a season with back-to-back shutout victories and was the first time since 1997 that the Cats have begun a season with two straight wins.

Each of Arizona's three goals that weekend was scored by a different player. Tymarie Novak notched the Cats' first goal of the season on Aug. 30, her second goal as a Wildcat. Lisa Kosena and Kelly Nelson each dented the net once, logging their first collegiate goals. Erin Clewett assisted Nelson's goal for the win on Sept. 1.

Goalkeeper Amanda Martin played all 180 minutes in the nets for the Cats, tallying 14 saves while not allowing any goals. She racked up nine saves against Cal Poly on Sept. 1, and with the weekend's two shutouts, she became the first Wildcat goalkeeper since 1999 to log more than one shutout in a season.

WILDCAT RECRUITING CLASS RANKED AMONG BEST IN REGION: The 2002 UA women's soccer recruiting class was ranked 17th in the West Region by Soccer Buzz Magazine. That's outstanding when you consider the caliber of women's soccer programs in this region. Every Pac-10 school's recruiting class made the regional top 20 list.